Présentation de l'APF - EN

"It is the people, through their elected representatives, who will push governments to move forward. The parliaments of all the countries where French is spoken should be brought together in an interparliamentary association." Léopold Sédar Senghor, February 1966

The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) was founded in 1967 at the suggestion of Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor and with the support of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, Nigerian President Hamani Diori, Lebanese President Charles Helou and Cambodian Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, later crowned King.

It is an international organization with 99 members (member sections, associate sections and observers) from parliaments and inter-parliamentary organizations on five continents, all of which share French as an official, working or cultural language.

Missions

As a political forum for debate, proposals and information exchange on all subjects of common interest to its members, the APF has five missions.

Firstly, with a view to promoting the diversity of cultural and linguistic expression, the APF is pursuing its original fight for the use of the French language in as many parliamentary institutions as possible and, including in countries where French is not an official language, by as many French-speaking parliamentarians as possible committed to French-speaking culture.

Secondly, the APF devotes a significant part of its activities to cooperation initiatives aimed at strengthening the legal and technical capacities of parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, through thematic seminars and training courses. This offer of cooperation is enriched by legislative corpuses, technical-legal databases designed to provide legislative assistance on key subjects.

Thirdly, the institution participates in international debates on major contemporary issues, so that the point of view of French-speaking parliamentarians can be heard on the world stage. For example, it is involved in the fight against climate change and political equality between women and men.

Fourthly, the APF acts in the field of parliamentary diplomacy to promote democracy and human rights throughout the French-speaking world. It contributes to the prevention of crisis situations and, where necessary, to the restoration of stability and peace. To this end, it organizes parliamentary diplomacy, political good offices, and electoral observation missions.

Fifthly, the APF, known as a representative and consultative assembly of the Francophonie, adopts resolutions on subjects of interest to the French-speaking community in the political, economic, social, cultural, educational and environmental fields, in particular for the executive bodies of the Francophonie: the Summits of Heads of State and Government; the Ministerial Conferences of the Francophonie; the Permanent Councils of the Francophonie.

To accomplish its missions, the APF works in close collaboration with numerous partners: the International Organization of La Francophonie and all major French-speaking stakeholders (permanent ministerial conferences, technical operators, specialized institutes, institutional networks, non-governmental organizations), other interparliamentary organizations (Inter-Parliamentary Union, regional and sub-regional organizations) and organizations of the UN system and the international monetary system.

Bodies

The democratic life of the APF is organized around the following deliberative structures:
-    The Plenary Session, responsible for the institution's strategic management, brings together parliamentarians from all sections of the institution once a year.
-    The Bureau, which ensures the political direction of the institution, is made up of some thirty members, reflecting the geographical diversity of the institution, and meets twice a year;

-    Four Committees:
o    Political Affairs Committee;
o    Parliamentary Affairs Committee;
o    Committee on Education, Culture and Communication;
o    Committee on Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs;

-    Two Networks:
o    Network of Women Parliamentarians;
o    Network of Young Parliamentarians;

-    Four Regions:
o    Africa;
o    America;
o    Asia-Pacific;
o    Europe.